January 6, 2012

If you accept a job that you're not capable of doing, you're setting yourself up. If the expectations were unrealistic, you should have said no. Don't compound your failure as a journalist with a display of character failure. You're a Clinton, and that brings some advantages, but there's also the disadvantage that whatever you do may resonate with the wrong Clinton characteristics.

Speaking of bullshit. Here's the NBC response to the rumors that Chelsea's on the outs:

“100 percent false. You will see more pieces from Chelsea. She has been warmly welcomed into this news division, and we can’t be more pleased with her work. We hope she will be with us for a long time. There was no over-hyping of her role.”

So... they're not even trying to look credible. Great branding, NBC News!

“100 percent false. You will see more pieces from Chelsea. She has been warmly welcomed into this news division, and we can’t be more pleased with her work. We hope she will be with us for a long time. There was no over-hyping of her role.”

Read that with Martin Short's SNL sweaty lawyer character in mind. Hysterical.

I, for one, would welcome her in a recurring role on 30 Rock. With the right material by Tina Fey, Chelsea could become a bigger star than Alec Baldwin. I'm thinking ahead to a spin off series with her and the chubby McCain kid.

“100 percent false. You will see more pieces from Chelsea. She has been warmly welcomed into this news division, and we can’t be more pleased with her work. We hope she will be with us for a long time. There was no over-hyping of her role.”

i mean the piece wasn't that bad. it was cheesy and bland, but i don't see why people are holding her to such a high standard. have you seen luke russert's tweets? or any other "inspiring" scott pelley piece on 60 minutes? nothing remarkable on either front.

she's been capable when moderating things at the clinton global initiative events.

she's fine, althouse is just being critical because it's the popular way to feel about chelsea clinton right now. i like her, and will continue to like her, until she does something truly worth being critical.

If you accept a job that you're not capable of doing, you're setting yourself up. If the expectations were unrealistic, you should have said no. Don't compound your failure as a journalist with a display of character failure.

(When it comes to TV, hiring any journalist is a gamble. Watch any small market news and the difference between truly talented TV journalists and not is very apparent.)

This almost helps make the argument that her folks were involved. Usually, getting to a major market or network gig requires years of slogging it out in the small and medium markets. If she, on her own, traded on her name alone, that would have cut that down significantly, but in the real, non-Clinton-influenced world, that might have gotten her a gig at a major market, but still probably not in the top 3. The fact that she catapulted directly to network raises eyebrows. At least two.

(The Uncredentialed, Crypto Jew)You all are H8ters…Chelsea is AWESOME! She TOTALLY deserved this “gig.” Just like she totally deserved her gig at the British QUANGO and the hedge fund (??) she worked at….LEAVE CHELSEA ALONE!

This is what entitled looks like. She doesn't know if she'll like her cushy new gift job she's woefully underqualified for, so she'll just let them know if the princess will deign to keep it or not? In this economy, when experienced journalists have been let go by the thousands?

Granted, some of those journalists were the ones who were falling over themselves to talk about what a good job the Clintons did raising Chelsea, even though we never knew if they did or not. It seems they did not.

Ms. Clinton would make things easier on herself if she'd be willing to start in a low level job, and prove herself, and work her way up. She's an adult, and she can refuse these job offers she gets because of who her parents are. If she doesn't, she will always invite this sort of scrutiny. We wouldn't have these comments if she'd taken an entry level job as a claims adjuster for some insurance company.

They simply miscast the young woman. They should have created a venue that would help her succeed. A reality show about ugly, phoney vegans w/ daddy issues trying to find love would have been a good formula.

(The Uncredentialed, Crypto Jew)So...you're suggesting to disrobe in front of a dining room table, spread newspapers and magazines all over it, ease her back Doesn’t news print run and smudge? I’m just saying that’s gonna leave a mark…or two.

I never felt like attacking Chelsea, I mean a person can’t choose her parents. But once she turned 18, she was fair game…she CHOSE the job in England, she CHOSE the hedge fund job, she CHOSE to campaign with Hillary, she CHOSE to work at NBC…so she’s chosen to be an over-promoted Princess, too bad for her…

That’s not to say that after 15-20 years of hard work she couldn’t have been a success in NGO work, or the financial world, or in Journalism…but that’s not what she’s chosen to do, so it seems to me. She seems to have decided she’s going to ride the Clinton name and connections to high-paying jobs, for which she really isn’t qualified…branding herself as a Princess/Climber…I think after Hillary is out of office and a few years pass, that’s going to catch up to her. I mean when what you REALLY have going for you is a name, rather than a solid CV, it’s likely to get tough. Luckily she’s married ‘well.”

This whole episode show's just how little respect the media has for itself. Being successful in the media (print, radio, TV) is supposed to be a result of: talent/ability, education/training, and experience. Imagine if a large donor at a medical center showed up one day with daughter in tow and said "hey there, this is my daughter who's been working at a hedge fund doing something for the last few years, and she was thinking she'd like to take a whack at brain surgery"oop's, did I just compare TV reporting to brains surgery?

(The Uncredentialed, Crypto Jew)Full-time decoupagerA man can make a living as a full-time decoupager? Man I chose the law, when what I really always wanted to be was a Professional Decoupager…Well that or a …..LUMBERJACK!

(The Uncredentialed, Crypto Jew)The women at NBC have to put out to keep their jobs. And those demands upon the women often come from other powerful womenUh what Are those “demands” and do you think might be some…uh video of them being made and ESPECIALLY granted? Just wonder’n…

"Ms. Clinton would make things easier on herself if she'd be willing to start in a low level job, and prove herself, and work her way up."

Exactly. When Robert Todd Lincoln could no longer avoid military service in the Civil War, Abe saw to it that he got a minor staff position with Gen. Grant. Later worked his way up to Secretary of War for President Garfield.

When you start at the top, the only place to go is down. Everyone knew that she was selected for this position because of who her parents are. This is just a fluff job to give her exposure in the media. The media that she shunned for years. This is part of the hypocrisy. Real news people work crummy hours at low level stations and work their way to the top doing every kind of story possible to improve their performance. She deserves all the criticism she gets.